Troubleshooting - USB Connection Loss

A common issue with USB devices is that they will go to sleep mode or will disconnect after a period of time. This will be evident when the device can no longer be seen by the software. Below are a few places to make changes or to check the status of the USB device to ensure they can be used by the software.

Device Manager

Open the Start menu and select the search box:

Type ‘Device Manager’ and select the ‘Device Manager’ program from the search results:

Select the ‘Power Management’ tab and uncheck the ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power’ option.

Select the ‘Power’ tab and ensure that the power being consumed by that USB hub is not more than what is available. If you find that the power being used is too much, try using the device on another USB port. Select the ‘OK’ button and close the ‘Device Manager’ program:

Power Settings

Open the Start menu and select the search box:

Type ‘power options’ and select the ‘Power Options’ program from the search results:

Select the ‘Change plan settings’ link for the currently selected plan:

Select the ‘Change advanced power settings’ link:

Navigate to ‘USB Settings’ and change ‘USB selective suspend setting’ to the ‘Disabled’ setting. Select the ‘OK’ button and close the ‘Power Options’ program:

Serial Port Settings

For some devices, it may be necessary to force the device to be seen as a COM/Serial port device. See the manufacturer of the device for an available tool to support ‘COM port emulation.’

After using the manufacturer’s ‘COM port emulation’ tool, open the software using an administrator account and select the ‘Setup’ button:

Select the ‘Configure Workstation Options’ button:

Select the ‘Check In / Out’ link:

Select the ‘Listen and process badge scans in the background’ option and select the ‘Configure’ button:

Select the ‘Listen to serial port’ option and set the settings as set in the ‘COM port emulation’ tool earlier. Select the ‘OK’ button: